Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's Mementos
by Kiwi Lee Scipio
Summary: Oswald tells his tale of his life up to 2014 to his good friend, Kiwi Lee (the one here with the computer)


Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's Mementos

As told to his good friend, Kiwi Lee

"The Lucky Rabbit Disaster." That's what I've had titled over my life story by a few writers. I don't blame them, my life didn't go all that well in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I- I'm being told by a lovely cat I should just start at the beginning so I will.

I think it was December 1926, truthfully I don't remember the day, I appeared in front of a man named Carl Leammle sent with the luck from all the people at Walt Disney Studio, it was called the Disney Brother's Studio then. I remember standing with four other rabbits, all hoping for the part of Universal's new cartoon.

Well, you know this, but I got picked and they decided to use my full name as the tittle. Now here's a little known fact. Already I was a married rabbit. My first produced cartoon actually had all my children in it, called Poor Papa. Sadly, critics didn't like the idea that I was already old enough to have so many kids so that short got pushed over until the following year.

My debut on the silver screen wasn't until September 5, 1927. Everyone loved me, I was considered "a riot" and became a huge star all because of Walt Disney and the animators he taught. It took a bit of convincing for us to get Ortensia to appear, and even her younger brother was in on wanting her to join. Homer and I may have our differences, normally it's him picking on me and just wanting me to look a fool, but we had fun convincing her to join. Homer appeared in _Trolley Troubles_, helping my kids get in my way like he does on a daily basis. Thankfully we were able to convince both Ortensia and her father to come in the short _The Banker's Daughter _before the end of the year.

A long year and a half filled with creating 28 shorts with Walt and Ub was probably my best year. Ub was like an uncle to me, and Walt? Nothing less than a father. That was, until February of 1928.

It was contract-renewal time so I took Ortensia and all 420 of our children on a cross country vacation-like trip with Walt and his wife. I still remember that day like it was yesterday.

Ortensia and I were waiting outside Charles Mintz's office while Walt and the man talked, Lillian had the kids.

I remember turning to Ortensia and commenting about how long they were talking. She, of course, tried to reassure me it was nothing, but my curiosity got the best of me so I hopped up and pressed my ear to the door.

"If you just sign here, you can still-"

"Charlie, you want Oswald this badly? Well, you can have him. He's all yours."

"Walt! That's not what I want at all!"

"Don't you hear what I'm saying, Charlie?" Walt cut off the man. "I'm through with Oswald. Just looking at him makes me sick. He's all yours- and good luck with him!"

At that, I stumbled away from the door. I couldn't believe the man I called father said all that. The last few months before my contract ran out was rough. The two of us couldn't look eye to eye without a grumble or mumble. If it wasn't for Ortensia, I probably would've left back in New York. She reminded me I was still loved by adults and children around the states. I couldn't let them down.

At the latter half of 1928, Ortensia, the kids, and I packed up and moved to New York to work under Charles Mintz. Because of Homer and I getting him and his pop into the show, they ended up under contract with Universal as well so they came with us to New York. The house was smaller and Mintz didn't want our kids in the show and half the time didn't like them being in the studio at all so we were lucky when Ortensia's father offered to watch them when he wasn't needed for a short.

The rest of 1928 I worked for Mintz and did everything I could to make him happy. If I could do better than Walt's new cartoon then he'd want me back, or at least that's what I told myself. Ortensia noticed how Universal wanted my character to be, but I was too blind to notice until Pete and I did a short called _Yanky Clippers_.

After that short, Universal added sound, but because of being born a silent cartoon, it took me a while to even gain a voice. And once I had, it never seemed to stay the same. Only recently, once I rejoined Disney Studios, did it finally decide where it wanted to stay.

At the end of 1929, my family was forced to move once again back to California to the Universal lot. Walter Lantz took over my shorts and in no time we noticed a big change in who our audience was supposed to be after I found myself being Pete's partner in robbing a bank.

Universal was working on a movie called the Jazz King at this time, so they'd asked me to promote the movie with Paul Whiteman. Because of that, he let me be in his movie during the cartoon selection so I appeared in color a full two years before Mickey!

In the ending of 1930 I joined the Navy and gained shoes. The next year I got gloves and a shirt so it could be easier to see what I was doing, since the show was still shot in black and white. Though by 1933 my face had even changed, and at the time I thought that was better. The farther away from Walt's dream the better, I'd thought. It still hurt what he had said, and I ended up building up resentment for both him and his mouse.

In 1935 I got the worst news a cartoon can get. They wanted a new face for the "Oswald Rabbit" shorts. I spent two years looking for a new job. Ortensia had gotten a job back in 32, since she had quit as my stage girlfriend, at a sandwich shop so we did have some money coming in but I remember days I'd give my food to her or the kids. There just wasn't enough to go around for all 422 of us.

At the end of 1937, we woke up and found ourselves in an unfinished amusement park with a group of older Disney cartoons. A wizard by the name of Yen Sid told us that Walt had asked for a world to be created for his creations that had lost their love, or hearts as they look like. He called it Walt's Land and declared Walt had asked me to be the leader.

Right of the bat, a man who called himself the Mad Doctor offered to help me build up the world and in no time we became best friends. Ortensia wanted nothing to do with him sometimes, warning me about him. I need to listen to her, she always seems to be right about these things.

As our world grew, so did the discarded Mickey merchandise. Originally Mickeyjunk Mountain was created so we had a place to put it all and I didn't have to see it. I may have forgiven Walt since he wanted me to lead Walt's Land and the rest of his cartoons once they became forgotten, but I still blamed Mickey for my lack of a heart. Ortensia would remind me that the mouse didn't do anything but I'm a stubborn rabbit sometimes.

Then March 25, 1940 hit. It started out as a peaceful Thursday, all my children had been tucked in and Ortensia and I were reading a book on the sofa, snuggling. It sounded like a thunder storm mixed with the sound of glass breaking. We looked out the windows to see the sky now filled with ink. When the storm started sucking the pant away, I rushed to put a stop to it, only for Ortensia to become inert protecting me from the same fate.

After that I lost all reason to live. I moved myself to Mickeyjunk Mountain, leaving Wasteland, as it then was changed to being called, to fend for itself. Every once in a while my kids would visit, but even that ended after a few years. I employed some card guards to prevent anyone from coming up to me, and until 2006 they did their jobs. Then the mouse came with Gremlin Gus.

Now, if anyone believes I hate my life, they're wrong. If Walt had never left me, Mickey would never have been created and I kinda like having him as my little brother. Just don't tell him I said that.

Today my family and I are working on moving back to the cartoon world. Just in 2013 I managed to make a cameo appearance in Mickey's Get a Horse! and Japan used Ortensia and me in their 2013-2014 Christmas/New Years short. I've also learned that the Disney Company has created ornaments, figurines, and plushies of myself. Now if only they would come out with Ortensia plushies, since she's having fun collecting mine.


End file.
